Since everyone was out of the carriage and seemingly waiting for the person they had mentioned, Rayven also stood outside, but he was watching all of their movements. His hand was even inching toward the sword at his side.
However, he wasn't that subtle yet, as Gerald noticed.
"Something wrong, boy?"
Rayven didn't answer. Instead, he decided to trust his instinct… There were already so many signs that they weren't a family travelling together. He had to act now or it would be too late.
He could only trust his lone skill!
[ Skill: Mana Flick – Common ]
[ Cost per use: 1 Gold ]
[ Effect: Fires a weak burst of mana, capable of pushing small objects or causing minor burns. ]
He didn't wait.
"Mana Flick!"
[ 1 Gold Coin deducted. Current Balance: 61 ]
Although it doesn't look cool how he had to shout 'Mana Flick', he had to do it. That was the only activation method he had right now.
He could only hope that someday, he could buy a skill that could make him do a chantless cast or something.
Thud!
A blue spark burst from his palm and struck Gerald square in the chest, sending him stumbling backward into the carriage.
"What the—?!"
The attack was not enough to kill Gerald, but it must've hurt a lot.
Rayven didn't listen and glanced at the other people. After all, they had already raised their weapons and started attacking him! They were actually prepared for a fight as if they were expecting that it would not be easy to subdue him.
"He's a Mage!" Kaspian shouted as he threw his dagger at Rayven.
However, Rayven was unlike any other mage that they knew.
"Mana Flick!"
[ 1 Gold Coin deducted. Current Balance: 60 ]
This spell struck the dagger and continued to his Kaspian!
"What?!" Kaspian was shocked as he didn't expect so much power behind that tiny burst of mana.
Still, Kaspian was able to react quickly and was only hit in the shoulder, causing him to drop his sword and curse loudly.
The two women screamed, seeing that Rayven was able to subdue the two men. One of them ducked behind the carriage while the other reached for a hidden dagger.
Rayven didn't hesitate.
"Mana Flick! Mana Flick!"
[ Current Balance: 58 ]
The dagger flew from the woman's hand as she yelped in pain, clutching her wrist.
The coachman tried to climb down from the carriage, but Rayven hit him mid-step.
"Mana Flick!"
[ 1 Gold Coin deducted. Current Balance: 57 ]
The man then fell hard and groaned as he rolled into the mud.
'Ugh… You'd better have gold coins with you… I spent so much.'
At this time, Rayven noticed that Gerald was already coming for him, so he had no choice but to use one more spell, making his total balance only 56 gold coins…
Still, it was enough to put him unconscious.
'I guess the spell is strong against non-magicians or something.'
He wanted to finish him off with his sword, but a part of him wanted to give him a chance or the benefit of the doubt.
'Right… I'm not really a person. Why am I thinking of killing people so quickly?' Rayven thought to himself as he realized that his morals seemed to be adapting to this world, a lot faster than he thought.
Rayven then turned toward the last figure, the youngest girl who had marks of restraints on her arm.
She hadn't moved from her hiding spot.
As soon as she realized that Rayven was looking at her, she froze, but her hands started trembling at her sides.
Rayven hesitated.
She didn't reach for a weapon. She didn't run. She just stared at him… and then slowly raised her hands.
"I'm not with them," she said softly. "I was taken. I'm not one of them. Please, believe me… They're illegal traders!"
Hearing this, Rayven heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that his intuition was right.
He smiled as he turned to the people he had taken down and started tying them up with a rope he found in the carriage. After all, they weren't killed by his attacks. They might be able to recover, so it's better to confine them before they regain their strength.
"Alright… This should be enough!" Rayven said as the older woman he had just tied tried to complain, telling him that she was also captured by the three men.
However, the young girl immediately denied her words!
"No! She's the leader! I trusted her!" She then cried and explained what had happened to her.
Her name was Farah, and she was supposed to work as a tailor, but in the end, she was dragged and was about to be sold to a merchant waiting in Dollen Village.
Rayven nodded as he planned to send these slave traders to the guards. Based on his memories, slave trading here was not completely illegal, but it had a lot of restrictions… like only those who couldn't pay debt, prisoners of war, and those who committed crimes could be taken as slaves.
At this time, Farah cried as she recalled her past experience…
"I've been with them for weeks…"
Rayven couldn't even listen as he could only hug the girl and calm her down…
After calming down, the girl looked at him with pleading eyes. "W-what do you plan to do now?"
Rayven looked at the village and the four captured criminals. "I'll let the village decide what to do with them."
"With the amount of evidence I can see on the carriage and our testimony… There shouldn't be any problem imprisoning them." Rayven said as he looked at the suspicious waterskin that they wanted him to drink from.
For now, he turned toward the carriage, grabbed the merchant's satchel from Gerald's unconscious body, and searched through it. Inside were papers or ledgers containing names, prices. They were also proof…
However, the most important part was the reward. He needed some gold coins as he spent 6 gold coins just now!
Unfortunately, it seemed that he had expected too much from these broke traders....